Fourteen-year-old Zican Yang has her goals all set. Get her tennis rankings high enough to gain entry into a top tennis University, possibly in the USA; play some collegiate tennis and choose a completely different career path.
“I don’t think I will play tennis after University,” said Yang, who is currently playing at the 30th edition of the Tep Khunnah Memorial Cup, an ITF J30 event taking place at the Morodok Techo Tennis Complex.
Yang picked up tennis when she was seven-years-old in Beijing but currently trains in Shanghai.
“There was practically a tennis court next to my house and picked up playing. I have also tried surfing, skating and horse riding, but it was tennis that became my choice,” said Yang, who will open her singles campaign at the tournament against Indian wild card entrant Soni Aanya.
She partnered Korean Park Ha-an in the girls’ doubles, and the scratch pair were in imperious form to dispose of Indonesian sisters Nadine Ashlee Tio-Naomi Gracelyn Tio 6-4, 6-1 in the first round.
“I want to be able to improve my rankings, so that I can get into a good college that offers a tennis programme. I don’t think I will be able to play for China in the future as there are just so many good players back at home,” said Yang.
She has not won any titles on the junior circuit yet although she finished runners-up twice in the doubles at the ITF tournament in Bangladesh. She and partner Dong Tianran were beaten 4-6, 6-1, 4-10 in the final of the J30 Dhaka final by the Maldives-Indian scratch pair of Aaraa Aasaal Azim-Sanmitha Harini Lokes.
She and her partner were also beaten 2-6, 6-4, 5-10 by another Chinese pair, Wang Hanyu-Yang Zijie at the J30 Rajshahi final.
“My target here is to at least make the singles quarter-finals and doubles semis,” said Yang, who has also been playing extensively in junior tournaments in China.
She admitted that with the abundance of talents available in the junior rankings in China, she ends up losing our in the early stages in competitions at home.
Her best singles outing this year was a quarter-final appearance at the J60 event in Anning, China.
Zican hopes to emulate the qualities of her two favourite tennis players Mirra Andreeva and Jannik Sinner in her game.
“I just love the consistency of her (Andrreva) game and she has done so well despite being only 18,” said Yang.
She added that Sinner’s ability to be patient even when under pressure was something she would like to in-calculate into her game.
Boys singles top seed crashes out
Meanwhile, the opening day of the competition main draw saw the shock exit of the boy’s singles top seed Joachim Mika Gunawan, who suffered a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 defeat at the hands of China’s Yue Yu.
Joachim, a losing finalist at the J30 Phan Thiet earlier this month and a semifinalist at the the same venue last week, started off well but wilted under the pressure from Yue Yu. Yue has never made it past the third round in any of his appearances on the circuit and will be relishing his chances of a better showing after scalping the top seed.
France based Cambodian player, Louis La Planeta partnered China’s Yin Zifan in the boy’s doubles but the pair were beaten 2-6, 2-6 by the Chinese pair of Li Tiancheng-Tian Rungu.
RESULTS
Boys singles
First Round: Ganuka Fernando (Sri) bt Justine Lie (Sgp) 6-2, 6-2; Binh Bao Quan Phan (Vie) bt Rishab Ramanan (Ind) 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-2; Run Ze Shi (Chn) bt Se Hun Kim (Kor) 6-3, 6-0; Shin Jaejun (Kor) bt Jonathan Roth (Aut) 6-2, 6-1; Li Tiangcheng (Chn) bt Prachanda Komarla (Aus) 6-2, 6-1; Yue Yu (Chn) bt Joachim Mika Gunawan (Ina) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Ethan Matthew Koh (Sgp) bt Hao Yi Zhang (Chn) 7-6 (4), 6-3; Shreyanth Mahanthesa (Ind) bt Rungu Tian (Chn) 6-0, 6-1
Boys Doubles
First Round: Kim Kyungone-Kim Se Hun (Kor) bt Jacques Rupe-Matthew Tay (Nzl-Sgp) 6-2, 6-2; Shin Jaejun-Koo Bon Hong (Kor) bt Chen Xiaozheng-He Shunhua (Chn) 6-3, 7-5; Lio Tiancheng-Tian Rungu (Chn) bt Louis La Planeta-Yin Zifan (Cam-Chn) 6-2, 6-2; Song Yefei-Xu Haoxuan (Chn) bt Andre Harnadi-Justin Lie (Sgp) 6-3, 6-4
Girls Singles
First Round: Hanyu Wang (Chn) NIyati Hiranandani Bhandari (Ind)
Ha-an Park (Kor) bt Binh Nhien To (Vie) 6-0. 6-0; Amara Young (GBR) bt Regina Lawmkimi Bawitlung (Ind) 7-6 (3), 6-4; Qingan Chen (Chn) bt Mei Uchida (Jpn) 6-1, 6-1; Youwen Shi (Chn) bt Milanesa Briana Susanto (Ina) 6-0, 6-0
Girls Doubles
First Round: Park Ha-an-Zican Yang (Kor-Chn) bt Nadine Ashlee Tio-Naomi Gracelyn Tio (Ina) 6-4, 6-1
